Class 10 Civics Chapter 4 (formerly Chapter 6), Political Parties, answers why modern democracies cannot exist without political parties, details the seven functions parties perform, compares one-party, two-party and multi-party systems, sets out the Election Commission criteria for National and State parties in India, analyses the four major challenges facing political parties, and evaluates legal and institutional reforms.
What Class 10 Social Science (Civics) Chapter 4 Covers
Why Do We Need Political Parties? (Meaning, Functions & Necessity) defines a political party as a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government (comprising three components: the leaders, the active members and the followers), details the seven functions of political parties: (1) contesting elections, (2) putting forward policies and programmes, (3) making laws, (4) forming and running governments, (5) playing the role of opposition, (6) shaping public opinion, and (7) providing people access to government machinery and welfare schemes, and explains why representative democracies need parties.
How Many Parties Should We Have? & National and State Parties compares a one-party system (China—not a democratic option), a two-party system (USA, UK) and a multi-party system with alliances/coalitions (India—NDA, UPA, Left Front, suited to India’s vast social and geographical diversity), states the Election Commission of India (ECI) criteria for a State party (at least $6\%$ of total votes in a State Legislative Assembly election and at least $2$ seats) and a National party (at least $6\%$ of total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and at least $4$ seats in the Lok Sabha), and profiles India’s recognised National Parties (AAP, BSP, BJP, CPI-M, INC, NPP) and regional State parties.
Challenges to Political Parties & How Can Parties be Reformed? examines the four major challenges: (1) lack of internal democracy within parties, (2) dynastic succession, (3) growing role of money and muscle power, and (4) failure to offer a meaningful choice to voters, then reviews recent reforms—the Anti-Defection Law (Constitutional amendment preventing elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties), the Supreme Court order requiring mandatory affidavits disclosing property and criminal cases, and the Election Commission order requiring internal organisational elections and income tax returns—plus further proposals like state funding of elections and $1/3$ women’s tickets.
Exercises in Chapter 4
- Chapter Exercises (10 Questions) state the various functions political parties perform in a democracy, what the various challenges faced by political parties are, suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well, define what a political party is, and list the characteristics of a political party.
Read Class 10 Social Science (Civics) Chapter 4 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 3: Gender, Religion and Caste
- Next: Chapter 5: Outcomes of Democracy
- Hindi medium: Class 10 Civics Chapter 4 in Hindi (Loktantrik Rajniti II)
- All Social Science (Civics) chapters and the other Class 10 books: Class 10 NCERT books 2026-27
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FAQ
What are the four major challenges faced by political parties in a democracy?
(1) Lack of internal democracy (concentration of power in a few top leaders without membership registers or regular internal elections); (2) Dynastic succession (top positions controlled by members of one family, unfair to ordinary party workers); (3) Growing role of money and muscle power during elections (rich candidates, companies and sometimes criminals nominated just to win); and (4) Lack of meaningful choice to voters (declining ideological differences among major parties).
What is the Election Commission criterion for a party to be recognised as a National Party versus a State Party?
A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a State and wins at least 2 seats is recognised as a State party. A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least 4 seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a National party.